- Date
- March 20, 1999, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- St.Petersburg, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5423FPiper PA-34-200T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990320015329A
- Case key
- 45931
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper landing flare that resulted in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the flight was cleared for a visual approach and landing on runway 09 at destination. During the touchdown phase of the landing, the aircraft bounced. The pilot recovered from the bounce and taxied to the parking ramp. The pilot noticed that the right propeller and right landing gear was damaged. Also there were wrinkles in the fuselage and the right wing assembly. The pilot reported that all was normal on the approach and that he thinks he may have flared to high.
Factual narrative
On March 20, 1999, at 1500 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N5423F, collided with the ground during a landing at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport in Tampa, Florida. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 with an instrument flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial airframe damage. The flight departed Newnan-Coweta County Airport, in Newnan, Georgia, at 1200.
The pilot reported that the flight was cleared for a visual approach and landing on runway 09 at St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport. During the touchdown phase of the landing, the aircraft bounced. The pilot recovered from the bounce and taxied to the parking ramp. During the pilot's post-landing walk-around inspection of the airplane, the pilot noticed that the right propeller and right landing gear had been was damaged. Also, there were wrinkles in the fuselage and the right wing assembly.
The partial tear down of the right wing revealed that there was substantial damage to the ribs throughout the right wing. There was also major distortion and a separation/splitting of the aft wing spar, aft of the main landing gear. The wing was determined to be non repairable by technicians at National Aviation maintenance facility. The pilot reported that the approach profile was normal and there were no mechanical problems with the plane. The pilot also reported that he may have flared too high for touchdown.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5423F
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-200T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-7770018
- Airframe hours
- 5,580
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360EB, 200 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Armand M. Karow
- Registered owner
- James Mcmakin/Mcair Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 1, 1998 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- CCO · Newnan, GA
- Destination
- PIE
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- PIE · St Petersburg/Clearwater, runway 9, 5,165 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 866 total · 64 in this make and model · 688 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PIE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.